Hi , i did an honest review of 3 1/2 years of owning a Sprinter from new so thought i would give another honest review of owning a new shape transit as some of you are probably toying with the idea of buying one in the coming months years.First though something really important has cropped up and i think any potential buyer should know, if they value the contents of their lovely new transit. i woke up monday morning in the little peaceful village i live in to find that scumbags have broken into my van! luckily it was empty but the way they got into my van makes the comical mk4 van you could start with a spoon look secure.since this bell end put a video on youtube showing how easy it is to break into new transits every transit owner is shaking in their boots. turns out the panels in these vans are really thin and the plastic rim around the main door lock can be forced out turned and hey presto the whole damn van opens. no alarm sounds so kiss the contents of your van good bye. takes around 30 secs to do and owners are losing stuff left right and centre. one of my customers has had 3 of his vans done losing $9 grands worth tools and equipment This is rectified by fitting http://www.garrisonlocks.co.uk/van-lock ... ck-upgrade

one of these could save your business and save you a lot of stress so GET IT FITTED.

i won't recommend the company i used as i felt well and truly shafted when i walked out of there. But its done and one less thing to worry about.

so what do i think of the new transit? do you care? probably not but i will tell you in dribs and drabs as the miles creep up and the years go by.

i have a long wheel base high roof 3500 kg RWD 2.2 125 hp model ( one of the last 2.2 s in the country before they made them 2.0 litre with ad blue) have owned it six months now and have 25k on the clock.It is WIDER only by about 2 inches, mainly by the depth of the side trims but the sides are curved too so overall its just wider so NO 6FT width restrictions can be gone through without scratching the van. The mirrors are lower so you will hit every post, car roof, hedge, wing mirror etc etc

The van is HIGHER only by about 1-2 inches so there is no mcdonalds or costa coffee for you and until i see someone else in one go under the bridge at ELY level crossing i shall not be attempting it.

the gearing on the thing is ridiculous, its as smooth as a winchester rifle ( to quote mike Brewer) but as an example you approach a roundabout in 3rd hoping to coast round but turbo lag and wrong gearing will prevent this and you will be changing down to 2nd which in my case always seems to be half way round the roundabout which inevitably results in something unsecured moving or falling over in the back. its gone past being annoying and bordering ridiculous. changing to 2nd prior to roundabout results in the engine revving to high and then you will be changing into 3rd half way round.

turbo lag and snatchy brakes. On its first service (30K) i will be mentioning this to tech guy at fords because it is stupid, you touch the brakes and it will send you lurching forward in the seat. if i didn't know better i would say it had a faulty brake compensator but i have heard this a few times from other owners. i have had it lock up too when braking hard.

fuel economy is poor compared to previous vans i have had mercy, VW. first week it was doing 29mph but since then it has dropped to 28 and does not move unless i use supermarket fuel when it will drop as low as 25mpg. BP seems to be the preferred fuel and gets the best mpg. the mere i had was doing 34 mpg when i sold it so this van is hurting me financially too.

Its not all bad news though the seats comfortable the steering wheel is nice, the ride is better than the MERC. The front struts and wishbone set up on the front of the transit is a long way better than the transverse spring set up on the MERC/VW ( don't know the tech words for it) the MERC/VW crashes into every speed ramp where the transit rides them. The transit also carries more weight ( probably due to thin panels) but it does.overall it just feels the same as transits from 15 years ago there are more bottle holders in these transits, no ash trays and the ones you can buy as an extra are ridiculous but hey ho.

another complaint about the transit is 30 k servicing by the time 30k comes round between servicing the air filter will be well and truly funked and i can just see it now the ford tech will be telling me i need new discs and pads advisories on tyres and the oil will be some stupid price, and no doubt i will invalidate my warranty should i choose to use two sets of pads to a set of discs as i have done on any other van for the last 2 decades..... anyway i digress i was advised that it is 30 k in between servicing but after purchasing the van was told it is 15k between inspections so basically i need a check up every 3 months or i invalidate my warranty! its a con a rip off and a real ball ache and after consulting a few more owners i may well just service the damn thing myself and say balls to the warranty.